I'd say it is about the same as here in America. Some love it, some hate it, some think it's okay, some don't care. It's like a Japanese person asking if cartoons are popular in America. :P

Here's the funny (as in ironic) thing. Anime = cartoon by Japan's definition of the word. Anime = short for "animation". I've heard people refer to it as such since I've been here...then again, I knew that before coming here too.

Exactly my point too. We probably have as many cartoons, both for children and adults, as Japan has.

Hmm. I feel embarrassed myself about an incident with my boss. When I first met her, she was giving a whole bunch of us an orientation. I just knew she was Japanese, and I was beyond excited, as she is the first Japanese person I met after falling completely in love with the culture, anime, manga and the language. She asked me what made me interested in Japanese. I said, "Bleach." I was completely confident she would know what I was talking about. She gave me a totally blank look, but quickly changed to one of pretend understanding. I was completely embarrassed, and I think she was embarrassed for me. Thinking, "American girl thinking all Japanese people know anime/manga like 'all Japanese people know karate.'"

Well there wasn't anime stuff everywhere [except for bloody Evangelion!] but I do stumble across quite a few anime watching KeyHole.

SSJup81 hit the nail on the head. It's like if I said"Have you been watching OOO?" they wouldn't know what I was talking about but if I asked if they liked Kamen Rider,Super Sentai,Zubat,Japanese Spiderman,then I should get a response.